30 civilians arrested in Puththa'lam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2008, 15:23 GMT]
Thirty civilians, Tamils and Muslims, were taken into custody by the Sri Lankan police in a cordon and search operation conducted in Puththa'lam town in northwestern province Sunday morning till afternoon. Every shop and buildings located in the town came under search, residents said.
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Courts instruct DIG to curb abduction, killings in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2008, 15:16 GMT]
Trincomalee High Court Judge M. Ilancheliyan Friday instructed the Sri Lankan Deputy Inspector General of Police for Trincomalee district in writing to take immediate steps to curb abduction, killing and unlawful detention of civilians according provisions of Human Rights Protection enshrined in the constitution of Sri Lanka, legal sources said.
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Civilians wounded in SLAF bombardment

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2008, 12:17 GMT]
At least four civilians were wounded at Vaddakkachchi, around 7 km from Ki'linochchi Sunday at 4:20 p.m. when two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked a residential area twice, Tamileelam Police officials told media in Ki'linochchi. 15 houses have sustained serious damage in the aerial attack.
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DS officials in Vanni seek guarantees for their safety

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 July 2008, 08:28 GMT]
Expressing fear of being targeted by claymore attacks while serving the civilians in Vanni, two Divisional Secretaries (AGAs) presently working in Mullaiththeevu and Ki'linochchi districts have requested the Government Agents (GAs) of the two districts to be transferred from their present postings. The two divisional secretaries while condemning the killing of their colleague Nanthakumar have pointed out that they face severe hardships in providing services for the public in their administrative areas and have requested the Government Agents of the two districts to ensure their safety.
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Ejected IDP family denies wrongdoing

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2008, 12:39 GMT]
A widowed Tamil woman and three children displaced from Trincomalee district and living in an interim camp in Kalviyangkaadu, Batticaloa, and recently ejected from the camp by the village officer (GS) of the area for immoral conduct, has called for justice from Human Rights Commission (HRC).
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Tamil trader shot dead, 4 abducted in Vavuniyaa

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2008, 09:42 GMT]
A 67-year-old Tamil trader, Arumugam Karuppiah, was shot dead Thursday night at Paarathipuram in Vavuniyaa by unidentified persons. He succumbed to gunshot injuries on admission at the Vavuniyaa general hospital, according to medical sources. Meanwhile, 4 Tamil civilians were abducted by unidentified persons since Wednesday at three different places in Vavuniyaa.
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Former IGP sworn in as Governor of Northern Province

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 July 2008, 07:24 GMT]
Victor Perera who retired on June 30 from the post of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Thursday took oaths before President Mahinda Rajapakse as the first Governor of the Northern Province. This is the first time a retired IGP has been appointed for the post of the governor of a province in the country.
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3 policemen, 2 civilians injured in Claymore attack in Ea’raavoor

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2008, 16:37 GMT]
A Claymore attack on the train from Batticaloa to Colombo Thursday around 8:15 p.m near Ea’raavoor Railway station injured three policemen and two civilians including a student. The train left Batticaloa Railway station at 7:30 p.m.
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Treatment delayed to Aayiththiyamalai injured

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2008, 03:46 GMT]
More than a hundred civilians, including women and children, assaulted by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops and policemen during the joint cordon and search operation following the claymore attack 23 June killing 3 policemen in Aayiththiyamalai, are continuing to be admitted to hospitals, sources in Batticaloa said. The injured civilians were first not allowed to go to hospitals, while the ICRC officials who went to the area to assess the situation were also sent back by the SLA troops and the police, residents of the area said.
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Assure government employees in Vanni their safety – Ki’linochchi GA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2008, 02:42 GMT]
"If attacks and assassinations of government employees continues, the government services in Vanni will be completely crippled in the near future," N.Vethanayagan, Ki'linochchi Government Agent (GA) said, speaking at the protest rally held in Ki'linochchi Wednesday morning to condemn the brutal killing of N. Nanthakumar, Divisional Secretary (Assistant Government Agent) of Thu'nukkaay division of Mullaiththeevu district in a Claymore attack carried out by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA).
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24 Civilians arrested by Vavuniyaa police

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2008, 02:03 GMT]
24 civilians were taken into custody by Vavuniyaa police Tuesday afternoon and were interrogated, sources in Vavuniyaa said. Imposition of intensified security measures triggered the Police action, according to informed sources.
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Collecting Bank account details, violation of privacy, court says

[TamilNet, Thursday, 03 July 2008, 01:40 GMT]
Sri Lankan Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, while presiding over a Fundamental Rights submission on Monday, said that privacy of individuals was fundamental and warned those responsible for abuses such as asking for bank account numbers from civilians during search operations. Counsel M.A. Sumenthiran had submitted to court that directions given by the court were not being carried out during search operations. The CID officers were asking for bank account numbers from the civilians during the operation.
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HRW calls on GoSL to end illegal internment of IDPs in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 July 2008, 22:58 GMT]
The New York based Human Rights Watch has voiced against the illegal internment of around 400 Internally Displaced Tamils, who are languishing under Sri Lanka Army detention in a so-called 'welfare center' in Ka'limoaddai in Naanaaddaan division of Mannaar district. Since March 2008, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has detained civilians fleeing areas controlled by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Ka'limoaddai. The SLA has imposed severe restrictions on freedom of movement, instituting a daily pass system that limits to 30 the number of people who can leave the camp each day, and only if a family member remains behind to guarantee the detainees return in the evening.
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SLA artillery attacks target IDP settlements in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2008, 19:45 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) continue to launch artillery fire on Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) settlements in Ka’l’liyadi, Aaththimoadai and Illuppakkadavai in Mannaar district from Monday early morning. Large number of civilians who had been displaced from their villages in Mannaar district due to SLA offensives had been living in temporary shelters in the above villages.
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A9 gateway to Vanni closed after SLAF attack

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2008, 18:29 GMT]
The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) Tuesday evening informed the Government Agent (GA) of Ki'linochchi, N. Vethanayagam, that it has decided to withdrew its personnel from manning the A9 post in Pu'liyangku'lam after Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked a locality close to the gateway at 3:40 p.m., the GA told TamilNet. Four bombers attacked the location twice, endangering the lives of the civilians and the personnel manning the gateway.
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STF intensifies searches in Aaraiyampathi area

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2008, 09:57 GMT]
Special Task Force (STF) conducted a cordon and search operation in Aaraiyampathi Paramanaathar Koayil area in Kaaththaankudi police division in Batticaloa district Tuesday from 6:00 a.m to 9:00 a.m. Meanwhile, residents of Selvaanakar in Aaraiyampathi had to leave their houses and seek shelter away from the village as Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops set up camps amidst civilians houses in Selvaanakar.
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Nanthakumar’s remains cremated in Skanthapuram

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 July 2008, 08:50 GMT]
The remains of N.Nanthakumar, Divisional Secretary (Assistant Government Agent) of Thu'nukkaay division of Mullaiththeevu district killed Sunday afternoon in a Claymore attack carried out by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) was cremated Monday afternoon in Skandapuram with tearful homage in the presence of thousands of civilians including hundreds of government officers and a number of people displaced from Thu'nukkaay AGA’s administrative area.
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Trinco IDPs arrested in Batticaloa, released after detention

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 June 2008, 16:11 GMT]
Eleven civilians arrested during a cordon and search operation conducted by STF commandos Saturday afternoon in Kalviyangkaadu IDP camp located within the administrative area of Ma'nmunai North District Secretariat in Batticaloa, were released Sunday afternoon. The arrests were made while a sports competition for the children in the camp was being conducted by the Non Governmental Organization (NGO) Save the Children (STS) under the “Improvement of Education of Refugee Children” scheme was in progress.
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DPU Claymore explodes claiming the life of attacker

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 June 2008, 13:35 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier was killed while he was engaged in setting up a Claymore mine in Vannearikku'lam in Karaichchi division of Ki'linochchi, Sunday morning around 9:30, Tamileelam police officials in Ki'linochchi said. The SLA DPU team that hurriedly withdrew from the area, had left behind the dead body of the SLA soldier, 2 km away from the site of the blast. Police said a bus carrying civilians was approaching the area when the explosion took place.
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SIM card details registered during search operation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 June 2008, 09:03 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army and the Police, while conducting a joint search operation in Wellawatte, a Tamil suburb of Colombo, on Saturday registered details of mobile phone numbers and the serial number of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards. Meanwhile, many of the civilians taken for inquiries are yet to return, the residents said.
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